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'Bang, hitman': ATEEZ’s Hongjoong seemingly disses HYBE's Bang Si Hyuk in collab song SMB, sparking fan theories
Fans consider Hongjoong's alleged diss track as a possible retaliation of HYBE's unethical behaviour towards ATEEZ.
ATEEZ’s leader Hongjoong recently collaborated with American artist Odetari for the song SMB. However the January 15-released song immediately caught attention for the lyrics of Hongjoong's rap verse, sparking discussions of being a possible dig at HYBE's co-founder Bang Si Hyuk.
The lyrics of the song included lines like "Act your age, loser", "You think you’ve made it, hitman" and "Du-du-du, Bang", making it feel like a jab at the complex relations of HYBE with ATEEZ's company, KQ Entertainment. Fans picked on the words "hitman" and "Bang" from Hongjoong's rap verse in SMB and thought it to be an indirect reference to Bang Si Hyuk, as he is also known as "Hitman Bang" in the industry. Watch the visualizer of the song here:
Other phrases in Hongjoong's new song like "watching others" and "name-dropping" also reminded the fans of the controversial internal document release issue of HYBE. The incident took place on October 24 last year, when a Weekly Music Industry Report of HYBE was leaked online. The document included a mention of artists from various agencies, not just HYBE, and contained hurtful criticisms and derogatory remarks about the physical appearance of active artists.
But why would Hongjoong try to expose HYBE? ATINYs (ATEEZ’s fandom) have some speculations for the possible reason. As per fans, HYBE wanted to merge with KQ Entertainment, owing to the rising fame of the fourth gen group, ATEEZ consisting of Seonghwa, Hongjoong, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung and Jongho. On KQ's non-agreement with the merger, HYBE made it difficult for the company's smooth functioning.
From trying to buy all of ATEEZ's resources to making sure they don't get proper PR in South Korea, fans have accused HYBE of being responsible of ATEEZ's low popularity in the domestic sphere as compared to their international fame.
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